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OK……I’m no doubt setting myself up for a few pelters here but what the hell. The Mighty Brothers Reid of Edinburgh have been producing Scottish Folk\Pop\Country tunes for over 30 years now, and this is correctly attributed as being their best album. I realise they aren’t exactly the coolest cats in town, but they certainly know how to produce a catchy pop song. It’s easy to write them off as being nothing more than merchants of music for the masses but I genuinely think they are excellent song-writers and lyricists. No really……

Of course the opening track, and unofficial Scottish national anthem, is the big hit, but for me that’s just the start of what is a cracking wee album. The title track of Sunshine on Leith is simply beautiful. I challenge you to listen to this album in its entirety and come away feeling anything other than uplifted, sunny and generally happier than you were 46 minutes prior.

The Broken Bells debut is one of my favourite (and most played) albums from the last few years. So it’s not a great surprise to say that I have been looking forward to hearing “After The Disco” since I read about it last year.

I got the album the day it came out and although not as instantly appealing as their debut, I have enjoyed it immensely. The record has a more natural flow than their previous release, which comes as no surprise really as Broken Bells always seemed to be more a collection of great songs than a true album. So in short, this is a very, very good follow up, and I think it’s fair to say if you enjoyed their first outing this is sure to deliver.

I was listening to the Gaslight Anthem’s b-sides album which made me think of my favourite b-sides album ever.

It is a tough call between Oasis’s Masterplan and this album but I think OCS just shade it for me.

I remember buying the deluxe limited addition version of this album when it came out…I was and still am pretty big OCS, though their recent albums haven’t been as good as their height in the 90s.

Some great tracks on here including acoustic version of Day We Caught the Train and The Circle, plus the obligatory Day Tripper, which was always the last song on there set.

I went to see them at the Ulster Hall in Belfast just after Marchin’ Already was released. Probably one of the best gigs ever…plus another time at the Barrowlands they played for about 3 hours with 3 encores!

When Tim Booth left the band in 2001 I feared that was it for one of my favourite bands of the 90s. However, after not releasing an album for nearly 8 years, James burst back onto the scene with this record in 2008. “Laid” will always be the high-water mark for me, but with Hey Ma they released an album worthy of sitting alongside their late 80s and 90s finest.